DukeFang's Guide on how NOT to write Fanfiction
by DukeFang
Summary: This is a guide on how NOT to write fan fiction! not a place for trolls and flames, they belong elsewhere.
1. Basic Errors

**Please do NOT take this too seriously, this is a guide that I wrote for people who need a little bit of advice on writing or those who just want to hear about all of the ridiculous things I've read in a multitude of stories.**

**Basic Writing Errors-**

First of all, nothing turns me off more than reading a grammatically incorrect sentence. I'm not an English teacher and slang does not bother me, but in some stories, the grammar gets so hard to understand that I just stop reading. I know it sounds bad, but as a reader, if somebody cannot put enough time into their writing to check it for basic errors, it's probably not worth reading. I may be missing out on some great stories, but on a website like this, if people do not get a good first impression, they just move on.

When you write, make sure that you're subject and verbs agree, and that you punctuate the sentence correctly so that the reader can understand what you are trying to say. The one thing I hate more than a sentence not punctuated enough is an over-punctuated piece of writing. Only put punctuation, mainly commas, where needed, not everywhere and after every couple words. Also, make sure that you use spellcheck, or even read it out loud (Which by the way, is a great way to catch simple mistakes), or do something else, but PLEASE just proofread your work for spelling errors because misspelled or incorrect words are a huge turnoff to any reader.

Another simple way to make a good first impression is to have an interesting title; do not try to think up a title quickly as you submit your story, take some time and think it over because in most stories, the title is very important because if the title doesn't catch my eye, I won't even bother to read the summary. The summary is a way to show the plot of your story, not just an excuse to write two or three simple sentences about ratings; ALSO, do NOT EVER say that your summary sucks, even if it does. Every time I see an interesting title, I always look at the summary and I usually read the story anyways even if the summary is bad, but when the writer says that the summary sucks, it is a MAJOR TURNOFF. You know why? It's simple. It's because if the writer resigns to himself or herself that the summary sucks and they know it, but they did not even put the effort into fixing it, it just makes me wonder if they'll do the same with the story.

**Alright, I'm done with my first rant, I hope you enjoyed it and/or possibly learned something. **


	2. Titles, Summaries, and Sentences

**Alright, for my next chapter to my guide, I'll try to go over some basics to writing and I'll try to make it applicable to a High School of the Dead story.**

Like I said in my previous chapter, basic grammar and spelling are a must have, but to have a successful, popular story that people will continue to read, you must have more. First, create an interesting title, and a summary that will draw readers to your story. With so many mediocre to poor stories, readers on this website tend to flit between stories faster and faster to find one that holds their interest. A good title and summary can draw attention to your story, but to have a successful story, you need to retain your readers' interest.

To retain a reader's interest, your story needs to have very clear, concise sentences that paint a scene for the reader in the most eloquent way possible. Also, your writing style needs to be as seamless as possible, meaning that scene/POV/paragraph transitions are as smooth as possible and with little change in style as possible. To accomplish this, you must first work out basic errors, and then go in for a more detailed proofreading.

After you've scanned your paper for basic errors, read your story out loud, it's a good way to measure how well you've transitioned in between paragraphs, and it also helps you find basic errors that you may have missed. Another good way is to take a break and return to writing to see if it flows as well as you originally thought, and also to see if you still think the descriptions are good. Finally, if you are able to find somebody like a friend or a beta-reader to look over your work, then you should take advantage of that opportunity because secondary opinions are very valuable.

**That ends this chapter, but I will come out with another possibly tomorrow that will deal with OC's. **


	3. Secret no 1 for success

Here's the thing about Fanfiction, or any type of written work that is published in segments or chapters, it needs to be memorable and it needs to be charged with emotions. Because of how quickly we can flit from story to story, one individual's written work will probably not have too much effect on us. However, when we read a simply captivating piece of writing, we HAVE to read the next sentence, or chapter; it's human nature. Now, you may ask, how do I evoke this HAVING to read the next chapter feeling? Well, it may not be easy or simple, but I'll explain it to you readers.

To put it simply, you need to evoke a quick sequence of emotions from your reader, switching from one to another before the reader can register what is going on. Once the flood of emotions hits them, they will want to read more and more. See, I hate to say it, but people reading fanfiction tend to get less emotion from it rather than if it were say a book; when writing fanfiction, you need to switch emotional tracks extremely quickly.

Say, you are writing a story about HOTD. Your character is running down the hall, he/she sees their best friend at the other end of the hall, but suddenly two of 'them' attack the friend, ripping the friend to shred. On the other end of the school however, a cynical guy and a ditzy girl get themselves into all sorts of sexually tense situations. For a good writer, this premise would be a fairly easy one. Charge your first scene (the best-friend-being-eaten-in-front-of-you scene) with almost too many dark, bloody adjectives, and make the sentence pattern vary from long when describing the gusto with which 'they' devour your friend, to short when describing the main character's rage and violent outburst and slaughter of 'them'. In the second scene, there is almost no way to make it too awkward. Make your reader want to laughingly cringe and look away from the screen, but still look back hungrily for more. Maybe have the cynical guy accidentally fall onto the girl and have them walk by so they have to lie like that, but the cynical guy may be afraid of girls, I don't know, have fun with it. The more fun you have writing the comical scenes, the more fun it will be to read them.

Also, when writing a HOTD story, it is never a bad idea to include a downtrodden protagonist, usually trodden upon by another person in the group. That was one of the more emotionally charged plot lines in the story because Takashi was in love with the person who constantly put him down and used him whenever she had the chance. Because of this, the show instantly became more memorable to it's viewers and altogether more enjoyable because of the extreme romantic irony and the heavy drama it created.

Now that you sort of know how to create emotions, think about all of the great stories that you have read on this website. Even if the had a terrible middle and possible end, if the beginning was excellent, you kept reading. That is the power of the emotional response writing technique. Because you were so over-flooded by emotions when you read the first two or three chapters, you felt it necessary to seek it out again by reading the rest of the story. I'm not saying that if you create a phenomenal beginning, you can slack off, but you can loosen up on the over charging of emotions and focus more on the content of the story. Think of the emotional charges as sort of a fairly long hook to draw the reader into the story. But mark my words, do not start off to an incredible beginning with no idea where you want to go with the story because I once read a story like that on here, started off very good, mysterious and edgy, but the middle chapters destroyed all of the drama and suspense that the beginning had created.

**Well, that's the end of this rant on writing. Also, if you want any advice on creating emotions with your writing, or even just a short list of classic emotional charges displayed in modern and past anime, manga, and literature. Have a great holiday!**


End file.
